Called out for trying things, but kept on: Ashwin

With five wins in nine games, Kings XI Punjab have entered the double figure marks on the table with 10 points to their name after beating Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League encounter and skipper R. Ashwin believes that it is important to maintain momentum now.

“Very important to get that 10-point mark and I guess it’s the right time in the tournament to do that. It’s very tough to defend here, the wicket generally gets better in the second half. We probably thought we were 10-15 runs short on this pitch and I thought Arshdeep (Singh) bowled really well in the first few overs. We had some plans for Jos and he really executed well. Mujeeb also, I thought was brilliant, he went for a few runs but we got the wicket up front,” he said.

Praising Arshdeep further, Ashwin said that the youngster gives KXIP a huge advantage as he can swing the ball and restrict the batsmen in the initial overs.

“He (Arshdeep) can actually swing the ball both ways and for a left-hander to swing both ways is a massive advantage in the first six as we have seen with Deepak Chahar in the CSK. We are looking forward to Arshdeep doing some great things in the tournament,” he explained.

While Arshdeep finished with 2/43 from his four, Ashwin himself picked 2/24 from his four. Speaking on his own effort, the captain said: “For me, it’s about getting various lengths with different speeds and trying to get the batsman with under cutter and reverse carrom. I worked on a lot of things despite people actually calling me out for trying too many things, I kept on going.”

Talking about the changes in the team composition, Ashwin said: “Most of the changes are actually forced, we got Moises into the playing XI today. He was actually handed the cap but unfortunately he got injured in the last minute. Miller wasn’t playing but he came in and played a vital hand for us, he took a couple of catches as well. We are waiting on Mujeeb’s status (injury) and Moises (Henriques) seems okay.”